Flight Safety Information February 25, 2011 - No. 042 In This Issue Boeing: We Are Honored To Build The Air Force's Next Tanker Jet makes emergency landing at Oakland airport ATR-72-212 Runway Excursion (Brazil)... Natural change in earth's magnetic field causes issues for some pilots Libya Safety Warnings Cause Airlines to Cancel Flights Plane makes emergency landing at Louisville airport Med-Trans Corporation Names VP of Flight Operations Boeing: We Are Honored To Build The Air Force's Next Tanker Seattle Planemaker Selected For $35 Billion Contract Boeing's reaction was predictably enthusiastic after being awarded a $35 billion contract to build the KC-46A tanker for the U.S. Air Force. "We're honored to be given the opportunity to build the Air Force's next tanker and provide a vital capability to the men and women of our armed forces," said Jim McNerney, Boeing chairman, president and CEO. "Our team is ready now to apply our 60 years of tanker experience to develop and build an airplane that will serve the nation for decades to come." Boeing says the KC-46A tankers will be built using a low-risk approach to manufacturing by a trained and experienced U.S. work force at existing Boeing facilities. The KC-46A tanker also will fuel the economy as it supports approximately 50,000 total U.S. jobs with Boeing and more than 800 suppliers in more than 40 states. "This contract award would not have been possible without the hundreds of Boeing employees across the entire company, and the thousands of our industry teammates, who remained laser-focused on our commitment to offer a solution that is first in capability and best in value," said Dennis Muilenburg, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security. "This award is also a tribute to the Air Force and Defense Department officials who worked so tirelessly to make this procurement process fair, ultimately resulting in the selection of the right plane for the mission. We look forward to working with our Air Force customer to deliver this much needed capability to the servicemen and women we are honored to serve." "Boeing has always been committed to the integrity of the competitive process, and the men and women across our Boeing commercial and defense teams and our entire supplier network are ready to extend that commitment to delivering these tankers on time and on budget," said Jim Albaugh, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Based on the proven Boeing 767 commercial airplane, the KC-46A Tanker is a widebody, multi-mission aircraft updated with the latest and most advanced technology and capable of meeting or exceeding the Air Force's needs for transport of fuel, cargo, passengers and patients. It includes state-of-the-art systems to meet the demanding mission requirements of the future, including a digital flight deck featuring Boeing 787 Dreamliner electronic displays and a flight control design philosophy that places aircrews in command rather than allowing computer software to limit combat maneuverability. The NewGen Tanker also features an advanced KC-10 boom with an expanded refueling envelope, increased fuel offload rate and fly-by- wire control system. Alabama officials, however, expressed disappointment in the decision by the Air Force. EADS/Airbus would have assembled its version of the new tanker in Mobile. Joe Bonner, who represents the city in Congress, said in a statement "After having already won the competition three years ago and having brought to the table the best refueling aircraft for our military, it's deeply disappointing that Mobile and the Gulf Coast were not chosen as the home of the new Air Force tanker. Unfortunately, the best tanker for our military was not selected. I intend to demand a full accounting as to why. While there was great optimism that our team would ultimately prevail, we've also been conditioned to expect the unexpected. This competition has been challenged before and it's not unlikely it will be challenged again. It will ultimately be up to EADS to determine whether they will protest this decision and I will fully support whatever decision they make." Pentagon officials downplayed the possibility of a challenge, insisting that the competition was "open and transparent," and Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn said the process favored "no one but the taxpayer." The Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce was similarly disappointed. "The U.S. Department of Defense, in not awarding the aerial refueling tanker contract to EADS North America today, has made a egregious error and America's military men and women are ultimately the biggest losers," the organization said in a prepared statement. FMI: www.UnitedStatesTanker.com Back to Top Jet makes emergency landing at Oakland airport OAKLAND -- A corporate jet had to make an emergency landing at Oakland International Airport on Thursday morning after reporting mechanical troubles but touched down safely with no injuries, the airport said. The airport issued a yellow alert about 8 a.m. and had fire and operations staff standing by for the landing of the Dassault Falcon 900 jet, which reported issues with hydraulic pressure, said airport spokeswoman Rosemary Barnes. Hydraulic issues can affect wing flaps, which in turn can hamper an aircraft's ability to slow down upon landing, Barnes said. The jet, which was carrying four passengers and two pilots, landed and was able to taxi to aviation facilities where it was slated for repairs. The runway resumed normal operation at 8:11 a.m. It was not immediately clear whether the aircraft was headed for Oakland or diverted there, Barnes said. http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking- news/ci_17472071?nclick_check=1 Back to Top ATR-72-212 Runway Excursion (Brazil) Status: Preliminary Date: 21 FEB 2011 Time: 18:40 Type: ATR-72-212 Operator: TRIP Linhas Aéreas Registration: PR-TTI C/n / msn: 454 First flight: 1995-05-11 (15 years 10 months) Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney Canada PW124B Crew: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 4 Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 47 Total: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 51 Airplane damage: Substantial Location: Altamira Airport, PA (ATM) (Brazil) Phase: Landing (LDG) Nature: Domestic Scheduled Passenger Departure airport: Belém/Val-de-Cães International Airport , PA (BEL) (BEL/SBBE), Brazil Destination airport: Altamira Airport, PA (ATM) (ATM/SBHT), Brazil Narrative: An ATR-72-212, registered PR-TTI, was damaged in a runway excursion accident at Altamira Airport, PA (ATM), Brazil. The airplane landed following a domestic flight from Belém/Val-de-Cães International Airport , PA (BEL) and went off the side of the runway. The airplane came to rest with the left hand wing touching the ground. www.aviation-safety.net Back to Top Natural change in earth's magnetic field causes issues for some pilots Taking off and landing is second nature for any pilot, but a slow, natural shift in the earth's core is causing a problem at some airports. Because the earth's core moves, it causes the planet's magnetic field to shift. "It's normal. It's been going on for millions and millions of years," said Dr. Clark Wilson, a geophysicist at the University of Texas. Pilots fly using magnetic north, not true north, as a navigation guide. Magnetic north is the direction that all compasses point to. For a pilot, a runway numbered 17 means a compass heading of 170 degrees, pointing almost due south. Since the earth's magnetic field shifts from time to time, that can cause some runway numbers to be incorrect. Why do some airports like Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport and Tampa International Airport have to change their runway numbers while others like ABIA not have to do so? "The magnetic field is not symmetric around the world," said Dr. Wilson."Some parts of the earth have a stronger magnetic field and they have more rapidly varying magnetic field. So the field we see at the surface is reflecting what's going in the core, mainly underneath us." That variation is not as strong in Austin, so Austin-Bergstrom International Airport spokesman Jim Halbrook is not concerned. He says it could be at least a decade before the airport would need to renumber the runways. "That drift in the magnetic field hasn't been significant enough for Austin-Bergstrom to have to re-designate its runways, and this is partly due to where we are in our runway designation, 'cause we're at 17.4, and the drift is around .01," he explained. The 17.4 Halbrook refers to is Runways 17 Left and 17 Right, which point southward and flank the airport terminal. The next time you fly, do not worry - pilots are aware of this quirk. http://www.kvue.com/news/ Back to Top Libya Safety Warnings Cause Airlines to Cancel Flights Currently no one can guarantee anyone's safety in Libya. Due to this, a number of governments around the world have started announcing travel warnings to Libya. It is because of these travel warnings that a number of high-profile airlines have started canceling flights to this area. British Airways and bmi are among the airlines that have canceled their flights to this area. Of course, these are not the only two airlines that have canceled flights to this Libya. Other airlines like Qatar, Air France, Emirates and even Lufthansa have canceled their scheduled flights to the area as well. One spokeswoman for British Airways said that consumers who are booked to travel to or from Tripoli up till Monday, February 27, can claim a full refund on their tickets. The consumers also have the choice to rebook at a later day or use the value of their tickets towards another British Airways destination. The carrier went on to apologize for any kind of inconvenience this may have caused for its valued consumers. The airline also noted that consumers can get information about the travel warnings for Libya on their website. The second largest airline in Europe, Lufthansa, has canceled flights until February 27 as well. The airline did this after the German Federal Foreign Office issued travel warnings to Libya. Emirates, however, has actually canceled flights up until March 26. Some airlines, like Qatar Airways, have canceled all services to this area until further notice. Right now it is not known when Qatar Airways will begin flights to this area again. As of right now, things are not looking good in Libya. Apparently Libyan opposition has already taken control of eastern cities like Tobruk and Benghazi. The current leader of Libya, however, has vowed to fight until his last drop of blood. http://www.121carhire.com/news/libya-safety-warnings-cause- airlines-to-cancel-flights-9167819530.html Back to Top Plane makes emergency landing at Louisville airport On Thursday afternoon, the jet -- with 86 passengers and crew aboard -- lost it's number two engine and declared an emergency, according to Regional Airport Authority spokeswoman Trish Burke. That aircraft was able to land at roughly 4 p.m. on its own power and taxi to the airport terminal. The flight has been identified as U.S. Airways flight 2670. It originated in Louisville and was en route to Charlotte, when the pilot identified the engine problem and circled around to return to Louisville. The airport was notified of the situation at 3:30 p.m. and an emergency was declared at 3:52 p.m. http://www.fox41.com/story/14135924/plane-expected-to-make- emergency-landing Back to Top Med-Trans Corporation Names VP of Flight Operations Med-Trans Corporation, a leader in the air medical transport industry has announced Brian Foster has joined the team as their V.P. of Flight Operations. Mr. Foster is a proven leader with 25 years of in-depth experience in aviation operations, safety and training. For the past six years, he held the Vice President, Flight Operations and Director of Operations position for Air Methods Corporation. Prior to this position, Brian was the Director of Operations for LifeNet. During this time, he orchestrated the transitions of Mercy Air, Rocky Mountain Helicopters and CJ Systems onto the LifeNet and Air Methods Air Carrier Certificates. "We are pleased to announce that Brian Foster has accepted this senior leadership role within our organization," said Fred Buttrell, President & CEO."Brian is sure to be a valued asset to the company bringing with him some outstanding credentials. In his advanced role, Brian's leadership skills and experience will continue to drive our quality improvement and safety initiatives throughout our organization." Prior to his time with Air Methods and LifeNet, Brian served as a Line Pilot, Chief Pilot and then Director of Operations for ARCH Air Medical Services for five years. Brian has been a pilot since 1986, having begun his career with the U.S. Army Rotary Wing Flight Training at Fort Rucker in 1985. While serving as a helicopter pilot in the Army, Brian completed his Bachelor of Science in Aviation Technology Degree at Central Missouri State University. After his service in the Army, Brian obtained his fixed wing rating and worked as both a helicopter and airplane pilot. This included the position of Manager of the Beechjet program at Flight Safety International and a corporate pilot for Perkins and Friendly's Restaurants. Additionally, Brian acted as an FAA Designated Examiner and Check Airman in numerous aircraft. Foster will begin his position with Med-Trans Corporation on February 28th, reporting directly to the CEO. He will lead Med-Trans Corporation's flight operations department into the future. http://rotor.com/Default.aspx?TabId=177&newsid375=72725 Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC